Sunday, September 30, 2012

Besides stamps, what are your favorite papercrafting tools that you cannot live without? When I asked Anita Madden this question, the first thing she said was, "My paper cutter--what would I do without it?"

"I also couldn't live without my dies and my Big Shot," she continues, "[and] I love to use ribbons, buttons, Stickles and Glamour Dust.

"And I'm addicted to pretty papers! I can never have too many papers, and I love that the companies are offering the 6 x 6 pads. They're so perfect for cardmakers."

Anita utilized several of her must-have tools when creating today's cards, which feature the same Benton the Bear character that Anita used for the first card we introduced her with earlier this month.

There are six different stamp sets in the Benton Bear collection, with this adorable guy doing different activities. One of them is 11083MC Pampered Benton Clear Set (drawn by artist Darby New):
.

Anita used the Benton's Bath image (8821K in wood mount) on a card that's "bubbling over" with cuteness:

She added Star Dust Stickles on the bubbles and arranged her buttons in a pattern to mimic them. What a great idea, huh?

She fussy cut the bear and popped him up with foam dots. Finally, the sentiment was cut apart, matted on cardstock, and adhered beneath a few buttons:

Now, who could resist forgiving someone who gave them a heartwarming card like this!

* * *
Would you like the opportunity to win your own 11083MC Pampered Benton Clear
Set? Please help me in thanking Anita for sharing her wonderful projects with us as the Inky Guest
Designer for September.

Leave a comment at the end of this post for her, and you'll be entered in a little
BLOG CANDY giveaway.

On Wednesday, October 3rd, I'll
randomly choose the winner for the same clear set that Anita used in her first card above and post
that person's name...so please check back to see if you've won!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Every once in a while, I'll look back and marvel at how many emails I've read or written that day.
How did we get along without our computers? I suppose you could say the same for all technology, yet somehow the previous generations always seem to have managed.

Today's story pokes fun at what can happen when email errors occur...

A Minnesota couple decided to vacation to Florida during the winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday. His wife would fly down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her e-mail address, and without realizing his error, he sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He had been a minister of many years who was called home to glory following a sudden heart attack.

The widow decided to check her e-mail, expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she fainted.
The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen, which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've Arrived
Date: May 16, 2011

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now, and you are allowed to send e-mails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is not as uneventful as mine was.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Our friends at Simon Says Stamp are celebrating their 10th year in business with a month-long celebration called STAMPtember, and we're thrilled to join in the fun:

A little about SSS...

Simon Says Stamp was founded in 2002 with an interest in exclusively selling rubber stamps. It didn’t take long until we realized we couldn’t stop there. During the past 10 years we celebrate rubber stamping in its full glory by giving access to people around the world to a one stop shop. Rubber stamps still remain the heart of our business and we are celebrating by hosting a STAMPtember™ event intended to inspire, educate, and celebrate the greatness of rubber stamping.

Part of the enticement of rubber stamping is that stamps can be used in creating or complimenting ANYTHING! From stamping dates on bank documents and postage parcels in the early 18th century, rubber stamping has dramatically expanded to include card making, scrapbooking, mixed media and many forms of altering and expressing art.

I'm honored to have been able to create a blog project for them using some products from our popular HoneyPOP Collection:

This code is valid September 26 through September 29, and it's good for 25% OFF all Inky Antics products ordered from Simon Says Stamp. (Go to their website, and use the pull-down menu in the upper left to find their Inky Antics items.) Have fun shopping!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Today we've got another example of Gamsol blending with the
Autumn Candle image (4105J in wood mount) from 11133MC Still Life Scenes Clear
Set:

I love the warm earth
tones that Nancy used on this pretty card:﻿

She accented the candle
flame and Chinese lantern flowers with a Stardust Glitter Pen,
which added a touch of sparkle:

On this second card,
Nancy used Copic markers to color the main image:

Nancy says, "I kept the
design simple with the matted image adhered flat, and only a few black beads as
accents. The cardstock colors and butcher block pattern make this streamlined
design suitable for a male or female recipient."

Here's a closeup
view:

For a real contrast,
try creating this bold, monotone version:

"I used a deep green
cardstock base to add warmth to this design," Nancy explains, "and used Distress
Ink Tea Dye and Forest Moss to sponge the edges of the image and
sentiment.

"I mounted the image with foam adhesive but then used thicker
foam adhesive to mount the sentiment so it could overlap. If you don't have
these in different thicknesses, you can also stack them for a higher layer. I
also used different mat colors which makes the image and card background a
unified focal image and the sentiment stand out.

"To me, this card is
suitable for a man or a woman, not just because of the image but also because
the ribbon, brad and patterned paper are a bold yet stylish
combination."

Not to mention, this card is probably even faster to make
than the others since the image isn't colored in. Pretty neat, huh? Which of
these three cards is YOUR favorite?

Guess what? I've also done a surprise drawing from those who
left comments yesterday about Anita's project as Inky's Guest Designer for September!

Gail said...I like that card very much - I have some honeycomb paper that I purchased out of state this summer and I need to use it - thanks for the idea! Have a great week!
September 23, 2012 at 11:46 AM

Anita colored the snowman image similar to the card front, and she added more Glamour Dust and Glossy Accents:

"I love using Glamour Dust," she says (which is a very ultrafine glitter), "but usually end up getting it everyone, especially on my clothes."

I have to say, if all of my cards ended up looking like this, I'd be happy to douse my wardrobe in Glamour Dust!

Here's another little tip (and I hope Anita won't cyber-pinch me when she reads this): Remember to stamp all of your images first and glue in the honeycomb piece at the end.

Anita confessed, "I forgot to stamp the ornament topper until after I had applied the honeycomb, so the topper is a little crooked."

I agree that it can be difficult to stamp around a honeycomb piece that has already been glued in, and you may risk smooshing things.

Sometimes I find it helpful to lay out my stamps and figure out where I want them positioned inside the card:

Then I hold the cut-out honeycomb piece in place where it will be adhered later on, and I trace around one side of the piece with a pencil:

Next, I flip over the honeycomb piece and trace around the other side:

That gives me a pencil outline to follow when I stamp my elements so I know they'll end up in the right spot:

Finally, I erase the pencil marks, color as usual, and then finally glue in the honeycomb piece as the very last step.

"This was the first time I've ever worked with the
honeycomb paper," Anita commented, "and I think I probably should have trimmed off the black
stamping lines a little better. It's not bad for my first try, but
don't look at it too closely!"Personally, I think Anita's card looks awesome and you cannot tell that she isn't already a honeycomb pro! But if you see a black outline on part of your honeycomb piece from stamping the pattern, you can always outline the other half with a Micron pen. That makes it look like it's supposed to be that way, and the piece would stand out even better. One of our customers suggested this at a convention, and it's a brilliant solution.Alternatively, you can stamp your honeycomb pattern piece using a tone-on-tone ink pad (such as a slightly darker blue on the Light Blue Honeycomb Paper Pad that Anita used), a Versamark Ink Pad, or a white pigment ink pad such as Brilliance Moonlight White. Any of these work nicely to camouflage the stamped outline.Thanks so much to Anita for sharing her awesome card, and to you for visiting our blog today!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

You may remember our blog hop in May that featured Action Wobbles. They're self-adhesive collapsible springs that add motion and dimension to flat objects for a unique effect:

Well, we had so much fun with them that we wanted to show you more, this time with a Halloween theme...and I'm delighted to announce that the Action Wobbles Design Team members have joined our Inky DT ladies in this month's hop!

The blog hop starts today and ends tomorrow at midnight. Please visit each DT members’ blog to view their projects and leave a comment for each designer. The more you comment, the better your chances are to win. (Limit one comment per blog, please).

Inky Antics will be drawing THREE people’s names at random, who will each receive an Inky Halloween clear set and a dozen Action Wobbles. The winners’ names will be announced here on Monday morning, so remember to stop back and see if you’ve won. The AW folks will also be giving away even more Action Wobbles, so there will be lots of prizes all around!

Updated 9/23: My second project is a quick and easy card that I put together, which only took about 15 minutes total. It's great if you need to make several to give away.

The stamps are Cube-0501 Frog Cube and 0498E Cast A Spell:

I couldn't resist adding a bit of ultrafine glitter on the star of froggie's wand and Glossy Accents to make his eyes shine. But you could always omit these steps and shave off an additional couple of minutes.

Of course, what makes this card extra fun is the Action Wobbles spring that I'd placed behind the frog image, which you can see "in action" here:

﻿

You can find these stamps plus all of the others used in our co-hop by visiting this page. Thanks so much for wobbling with us!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Last night, I drove past two different cars being pulled over by the police. I don't know if you've ever been stopped for speeding, but it happened to me years ago and I was really embarrassed. I didn't make any jokes at the time, of course. However, I couldn't resist sharing a few today:

“What am I supposed to do with this?” grumbled the motorist as the police officer handed him a receipt for his traffic violation.

“Keep it,” the officer advised. “When you get four of them, you get a bicycle.”

A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police. "What are those machetes doing in your car?" asks the cop.

"I juggle with them in my act."

"Oh, yeah?" says the doubtful cop. "Let me see you do it.”

The juggler gets out and starts tossing and catching the knives. Another man driving by slows down to watch.

A man was pulled over for speeding down the highway. The officer came to the driver’s window and said, "Sir, may I see your driver’s license and registration?"

The man said, "Well, officer I don't have a license; it was taken away for a DUI."

The officer said, "Do you have a registration for the vehicle?"

The man replied, "No sir, the car is not mine. I stole it, but I am pretty sure I saw a registration card in the glove box when I put the gun in it."

The officer asked, "There is a gun in the glove box?!"

The man sighed and said, "Yes, sir, I used it to kill the woman who owns the car before I stuffed her in the trunk."

The officer stepped toward the back of the car and said, "Sir, do not move. I am calling for backup."

The officer called for backup and about ten minutes later, another highway patrolman arrived. He walked up to the window slowly and asked the man for his driver’s license and registration.

The man said, "Yes, officer, here they are."

Everything checked out okay, so the officer said,"Is there a gun in the glove box, sir?"

The man laughed and said, "No, officer, why would there be a gun in the glove box?" He opened the glove box and showed him that there was no gun.

Then the second officer asked him to open the trunk so he could see if there was a body inside. The man agreed and opened the trunk, which was empty.

The second officer said, "Sir, I do not understand. The officer that pulled you over said that you did not have a license, the car was stolen, there was a gun in the glove box, and you had a dead body in the trunk."

The man looked the officer in the eyes and said, "Yeah, and I'll bet he said I was speeding, too."

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

When I first started stamping many years ago, I was a "true blue" colored pencil gal...and I still am to this very day! The only difference is that I used to just apply shades of color to build up several layers, and I was done.

Then a talented lady named Debbie Gimbel introduced me to Gamsol, and I'd loved it ever since. We've enjoyed spreading the word about Gamsol for the past decade, and we're always delighted to hear our customers' enthusiasm for this wonderful product.

She colored the image with pencils and blended with Gamsol. You can see how the color appears soft and smooth, yet bright:

Then, as a contast, she made this lovely version:

The difference is that she simply colored with the pencils but didn't use Gamsol. Notice how the "tooth" of the paper and more distinct lines of color are visible:

That's the cool thing about colored pencils...you can get two separate looks using them, just by choosing to blend with Gamsol or not!

In her blog entry, Nancy has additional photos comparing the two techniques along with several handy tips, which you can read about here.

This stamp set contains separate balloon and cloud images, so you can position them where you like. Nancy stamped them on scrap cardstock and fussy cut them out. Then she popped up the balloon with foam tape and adhered the cloud flat onto the card:

I know that many of you have used Gamsol with your colored pencils. Have you also tried using your pencils by themselves? Do you have a preferred method? We love to hear about your experiences!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Anita Madden says that Inky Antics was one of the first stamp companies she became familiar with when she started stamping. "They were some of my very first stamp purchases. I still love your images--cute and whimsical, which is what I enjoy coloring."

I always feel honored when I hear comments like this, and I never get tired of hearing them...even after being in the industry for 15 years.

These images were drawn by Nancy Baier of Shady Tree Studio, and she created this beautiful card using the swallow and one of the sayings:

Although Nancy lamented about how the sentiment is just a teeny bit crooked, which was making her sort of nuts, I didn't even notice it until she pointed it out.

(Remember, you don't need to tell people stuff like this! Most of the time, they won't ever see it themselves. Seems like many of us stampers are our own worst critics, and I'm guilty of falling into this category myself, too.)

What I did see, however was her lovely, soft coloring with Ranger Distress Inks and a water brush. The torn patterned paper with contrasting diagonal swatch is really visually pleasing, as it adds such nice movement to the card and brings your eye from the image down the sentiment.

Then Nancy made a "clean and simple" version of this card:

She added washi tape and three brown self-adhesive pearls to complement the Basic Grey Out of Print patterned paper.

You may have seen that this week's card on the main Inky site features the same set but utilizes the cardinal image instead of the swallow. Nancy stamped a cardinal card of her own, as well:

She colored this one as a male with the bright red that we usually associate with cardinals, and she mentioned how the tree stump he's standing on was drawn so that you can add snow to the top for winter or Christmas cards.

Had you spotted that leafy bough stamp in the previous card? Well, Nancy used it again but repeatedly to follow the curve of a Nestabilities oval die (or deckled oval die, as shown here). It was designed so the center of the bough lines up with the curve of the oval, and Nancy popped up the cardinal image in the center:

For a more detailed description, you can check out Nancy's original post here. Hope your day is filled with happy songs, Inky friends!

About Me

Copyright Policy

All designs, projects, and instructions shown on this blog are for personal, non-commercial use only and may not be sold in any form or reproduced for other purposes without specific written permission from Inky Antics.

Inky Antics images are copyrighted and nay not be mechanically reproduced or copied by any means including, but not limited to, photocopying, computer scanning and printing, using overhead or opaque projectors for enlarging or hand-copying images, or computer downloading and editing.

Our artists and employees work hard to bring you new images and quality products. Thank you for helping to make this possible by respecting our copyright.